BEFORE ACCEPTING A SURETY OR BAIL BOND,THE FOLLOWINGREQUISITES MUST BE COMPLIED WITH:a. photographs of the accused;b. affidavit of justification;c. clearance from the Supreme Court;d. certificate of compliance with Circular No. 66 dated September 19, 1996;e. authority of the agent; andf. current certificate of authority issued by the Insurance Commissioner with a financial statement showing the maximum underwriting capacity of the surety company.

NOTE: The purpose of requiring the affidavit of qualification by thesurety before the judge is to enable the latter to determine whetheror not the surety possesses the qualification to act as such,especially his financial worth as required in the previous section.

Section 14. Deposit of cash as bail

The accused or any person acting on his behalf may deposit cash withthe nearest collector of internal revenue or provincial, city ormunicipal treasurer the amount of bail fixed by the court orrecommended by the prosecutor who investigated or filed the case.

The trial judge has no authority to strictly require that only cashbond, instead of a surety bond, be deposited for the provisionalrelease of the accused.

Section 15. Recognizance

RECOGNIZANCE - It is an obligation of record, entered into before some court or officer authorized to take it with a condition to do some particular act, the most usual condition in criminal cases being the appearance of the accused for trial.

The release of the accused may be on his own recognizance, which means that he has become his own jailer. It may be to a responsible person. Persons charged with offenses falling under the Rule on Summary Procedure may be released either “on bail or on recognizance of a responsible citizen acceptable to the court.”

Espiritu v. Jovellanos, A.M. No. MTJ-97-1139 (1997)THE FOLLOWING ARE CASES WHERE THE COURT MAY ORDERTHE RELEASE ON RECOGNIZANCE OF ANY PERSON UNDERDETENTIONa. when the offense charged is for violation of an ordinance, a light, or a criminal offense, the imposable penalty of which does not exceed 6 months imprisonment and/or P2000 fine, under the circumstances provided in RA No. 6036b. where a person has been in custody for a period equal to or more than the minimum of the imposable principal penalty, without application of the Indeterminate Sentence Law or any modifying circumstance, in which case the court, in its discretion, may allow his release on his own recognizancec. where the accused has applied for probation, pending resolution of the case but no bail was filed or the accused is incapable of filing oned. in case of a youthful offender held for physical and mental examination, trial, or appeal, if he is unable to furnish bail and under circumstances envisaged in PD No. 603 as amended.